The Long Way Around (To A Happy Ever After)
by DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: Tony is tired. Of everything. Steve is stupid... but he's trying to fix that. When Tony gets kidnapped, will Steve have the chance to make things right? Please read the An, because it has all the spoilers/warnings in it.


**Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.**

 **Written for Auction Prompt - Slash Pairing.**

 **Word Count - 6367**

 _ **Warnings -**_ _Okay, there are various things. Spoilers for... a few of the movies? Civil War definitely, erm... Winter Soldier, and all the early ones. There_ are _sort of spoilers for Infinity War, but I also fixed that mess of a movie because I'm still salt about it. Just... how dare. Anyway, also warnings for somewhat suicidal thoughts, swearing, angst and eventually sappiness. Happy reading!_

* * *

 **The Long Way Around (To A Happy Ever After)**

* * *

 _Tony woke slowly, the pain in his head making him wish he'd stayed asleep. Or knocked out. Whichever was more appropriate. He blinked against the dim light in the cell and tried to raise his hand to rub at his head, only to find himself chained to the wall from his wrist._

…

Steve sat at the kitchen table, tapping his fingers against the glass in a mindless pattern. He'd been sitting there for hours, waiting and waiting and waiting. The others had been in and out, giving him odd looks but none of them had bothered to comment.

He thought that maybe they knew what he was waiting for. He wondered if they'd noticed the lack of Tony over the last couple of days.

Sure, since they'd returned to the Tower, Tony had been particularly avoidant, but Steve still saw him at least once a day, usually topping his bloodstream up with coffee in the kitchen.

It was odd to not see him, and this was the third day of it, and Steve was worried. He wanted to storm down to the lab and demand that Tony show himself, if only for a moment, so that Steve would know he was okay.

Except he couldn't do that, because his, actually all of the returned Avengers, didn't have access to those levels anymore. FRIDAY refused to take them there in the elevator, and the time Steve tried the stairs just left him banging with frustration against a locked door.

Sure, Steve hadn't expected Tony to be open arms and smiles, but they'd fought together against the worst threat the world had ever faced. They managed, between them, to fix the mess that Thanos and his gauntlet had caused, they reversed 'The Snap', and Steve had thought, hoped, that it would be a good starting point for them to rebuild their relationship.

Instead, Tony had gone into shutdown mode immediately. Steve was barely back from checking that Bucky and Sam were fine to find Tony gone to his lab and Steve's access revoked.

It was frustrating, but Steve wasn't ready to give up on the genius just yet. There had to be a way to break through the metaphorical walls that Tony had built up around himself.

"What you doing, sitting in here still, Punk?"

Steve blinked and turned to see Bucky resting against the kitchen counter, his eyes a familiar mix of amused and concerned. Seeing that look in Bucky's eyes was enough to throw Steve back into the simpler times before the serum.

"Have you seen Tony?" Steve asked, ignoring the question.

Bucky shook his head. "Can't say I have? Why, was he supposed to meet you?"

Steve sighed. "No, but I haven't seen him for a few days, and he normally shows up before that, if only for coffee."

Clint and Natasha chose that moment to appear, followed quietly by Sam. Steve glanced at his watch and saw it was lunchtime, which explained the gathering. He repeated his question to the newcomers, and got the same answer, though Nat and Clint both seemed to understand his worry.

"FRIDAY, is Tony in his lab?" Natasha asked, and Steve could've hit himself for not doing something so simple.

"Sir is not."

"Where is he?" Natasha asked, frowning.

Ever since they'd returned, FRIDAY treated them civilly, but was never quite as helpful as she'd been before… before. Steve wondered if Tony had told her to do it, but scolded himself for the thought immediately.

Tony wouldn't do that.

"Sir has been missing for approximately two days and seventeen hours."

Steve blinked. "Why the hell weren't we informed?" he demanded as he stood.

"Miss Potts and Master Rhodes are attempting to find information, Mr Rogers. They are Sir's emergency contacts."

Steve shook his head. "Nat, contact Pepper and see what we can do to help. The rest of you suit up. We're going to fetch him home."

…

 _The chains held him in an awkward angle, and every shift he made tugged at them, pulling at his shoulder. Tony leant back against the wall of the cell, his head still aching. Had anyone even realised he was missing yet? How long had they had him, drugged and knocked out?_

 _Maybe Friday had alerted Rhodey at least. And Pepper. Maybe they'd be able to find him._

 _Tony thought briefly of trying to find a way out of the cell but it just made his head pound more. He was just… so tired._

…

Rhodey walked into the Tower, his braces holding him steady. He glared at the assembled Avengers, who were all suited up and clearly waiting to head into battle.

"We're following leads, but we're nowhere even close to being ready for that," he muttered, gesturing at their uniforms.

"What information _do_ you have?" Steve asked, a look of desperation on his face.

Rhodey didn't know quite what to do with that look, so instead he gestured to the kitchen, sitting down at the table. He didn't start talking until the others had joined him.

"We still don't know the 'who' but we think we know the 'why.' I don't know if you remember the weeks after Tony reversed Thanos' Snap, but there were a lot of press releases about how he could have done anything with the gauntlet."

They all nodded, varying looks of disgust on their faces.

Rhodey could only agree with the looks. The media had announced to the world that Tony could have ended world hunger, war, took away all their problems had he kept the Gauntlet.

People had dived on it, vilifying Tony, despite the fact that he'd given half of the universe a second chance at life.

"So… he's been kidnapped for saving the world?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrow. "That seems… well. A bit fucking stupid if you ask me."

"Nobody is asking you," Clint muttered. "And of course it's fucking stupid."

Before Sam could make a retort, Steve glared at them both. "Enough, the pair of you. We don't have time for your bickering right now."

"Anyway," Rhodey put in, "We think it's a group of twats that think Tony can bring the Gauntlet back into existence and do all the things the media brought up. Pepper is currently bringing various suits against the media, and demanding they all print retractions and apologies for being assclowns, and Friday is running every search she can trying to find more information on who, precisely, decided they wanted to die."

Natasha raised her eyebrow and smirked at Rhodey. The two shared a moment of eye contact, and then Natasha nodded her understanding.

Rhodey liked to remain in the law as much as possible whenever he could, but this was _Tony_ and there was absolutely no way was he going to show any kind of leniency with the bastard's that were putting him through god knows what for a ridiculous pipe dream.

"We'll go and see if we can find anything from the others," Natasha said, standing up and gesturing for Clint to follow her. "We'll have Spiderman out as well. This is more important than school, I think."

Rhodey nodded. Usually, he wouldn't involve Peter, but again, this was _Tony_.

"I'm going down to the training rooms," Bucky muttered, also leaving the table. Sam followed him without comment, leaving Steve alone with Rhodey.

"Vision, and I assume Wanda with him, is already out searching," Rhodey said after a moment of awkward silence. "So, I'm going to go and check back in with Pepper and join him."

"What… what can I do? I can't just sit and wait around," Steve muttered. "I can't… I don't know what to do, but I have to help find him."

"You know… I'm surprised that any of you _want_ to help," Rhodey said, his voice calm. "Or even noticed he was missing, for that matter."

Steve stared at him aghast. "What on earth? Of course we want to help! Tony is one of us!"

"Is he? That's not how he sees it anymore, and honestly, the way he's been treated, I can't say I blame him."

"What? I don't… I don't understand."

"Tony put his life on the line, and damn near lost it, to save the universe, and he did it. Yes, I know you helped," Rhodey added when Steve opened his mouth to irritate. "But it was Tony that risked everything. And you didn't even stop to check if he was alright before you run off to your team. You didn't even check if he needed medical attention, and you were the one who was there with him."

"I…" Steve trailed off, a lost look on his face. Rhodey was right, he had done that, but Tony… Tony had been _fine_.

Rhodey sighed, seeing the thought's pass over Steve's face. "Tony wasn't fine. He had third degree burns all over the arm that he'd used to hold the gauntlet, and it took so much of his energy that when we managed to get him into a bed, he slept for a solid thirty three hours. That's not to mention the damage he'd already taken in the battles before that last fight. How he was still standing at the end, I have no idea."

Steve was at a loss for words. He'd had no idea that Tony was injured, though looking back it was an assumption that should have been at the forefront of his mind. It was just… loosing Bucky again when he'd only just got him back, to then have him back _again,_ Steve had needed to see him, to make sure it was real.

Of course, to Tony, that would have been Steve choosing Bucky over _him_. Again.

Steve groaned and rubbed his face with his hand. "When will I stop fucking up where Tony's concerned?"

Rhodey shook his head and stood up. "Help us find him. And then make it up to him, if he'll let you. Tony is a handful by anyone's definition, but if you truly want to be his friend… he's worth the effort."

"What… what if I want to be more than his friend?"

Rhodey blinked. "Then I'd wish you all the luck in the world, but also warn you that if you dated _my best friend_ and hurt him, you would be wishing for death by the time I was done with you. Capisce?"

Steve nodded sheepishly. "Yeah… yeah, I got it."

..

 _He still had no idea how long they'd had him, but his bruises had bruises. As one of his captors kicked him in the ribs again, gaining a yelp of pain from Tony, he wondered if this was how he was finally going to be taken out._

 _In a lonely cell, without even knowing what he was dying for._

 _He hoped, whatever they were after, was at least worth dying for._

…

"We've got a location," Pepper said, bursting into the meeting room with a piece of paper in her hand. "FRIDAY narrowed it down enough that we could get coordinates. Thank fucking god that we didn't let Tony remove that tracker," she added, nodding at Rhodey. "They've been using a scrambler, but Stark Tech is better than whatever crap they're using."

"Of course it is," Rhodey replied, taking the paper from her. FRIDAY materialised a holographic map, showing them the location.

"Is the Quinjet ready?" Rhodey asked, eyeing the pictures of the surrounding areas that FRIDAY was projecting.

"Fired and ready to go," FRIDAY confirmed.

Nodding, Rhodey hesitated for a second before he turned to Steve. "You're the best at Strategy here. Where should we be entering."

Steve stepped forward, his eyes scanning the area.

"Sam, Clint and Nat in from this end," he murmured, pointing at the back. "Me, Rhodey, Bucky, in from here. Vision and Wanda in from the side. We should take medics with us, just in case."

"Am I late for the party?"

Rhodey turned, raising his eyebrow when he saw Bruce Banner standing in the doorway.

"Aren't you supposed to be in India or wherever?" he asked.

"I got word that Tony was in trouble," Bruce replied with a shrug. "So I came back. Thor is on his way as well."

"Huh. "That makes this that much better. Let's go," Rhodey ordered.

The moment the last person stepped onto the jet, Clint was taking off, Natasha at his side. Rhodey sat down, praying that if he rested them now, his legs would hold up to the fight. The War Machine suit would help, but even in the suit, Rhodey struggled sometimes.

He took a moment to observe the other's in the jet. Most of them were sitting quietly, preparing themselves for battle. Steve was standing close to the exit, watching through the window.

He was practically vibrating with adrenaline. Over the last days of waiting and planning and waiting, Rhodey had noticed that Steve was struggling with the situation as much as Rhodey and Pepper, if not more.

They'd done this once before, when Tony was in Afghanistan, and they both had faith that Tony would keep himself alive long enough for them to go and get him, but Rhodey supposed that Steve didn't have that experience; or the faith.

"ETA in two minutes," FRIDAY announced. "Prepare for landing."

Steve had his shield on his arm before Rhodey had time to blink and was turning to Bruce.

"Are you ready to suit up?" he asked.

Normally they waited to see if the Hulk was actually needed before they asked Bruce to turn himself over to his green counterpart but not this time.

Because this time it was _Tony._

Bruce nodded grimly. They were all ready for this. They wanted their genius back.

…

 _His heart thumped in his chest, missing a beat here and there. It seemed to be stuttering, almost, and Tony hoped this was the end because he couldn't take anymore pain._

 _He'd heard one of his captors muttering about breaking him. If he could talk, he'd have told them well done, mission successful, because Tony was_ done. _He didn't want to do this anymore._

 _He didn't want to fight because what was he really fighting for anyway? A lonely bed, a lonely lab, a lonely life._

 _A bang sounded outside the cell, and raised voices could be heard coming closer. Tony prayed to every deity that he could think of that this was finally it._

 _That someone was coming to put him out of his misery._

…

Steve doesn't come across anyone as runs through the maze of corridors of the abandoned warehouse, but he can hear the others fighting in the distance, the Hulk in particular.

Edging around the corner, he can see a man standing guard by a door, and without even blinking, Steve threw his shield. The man didn't even have time to lift his gun.

Steve busted his way through the reinforced door, ignoring the pain in his shoulder as he threw himself against it.

Tony was chained up to the wall by his wrist, but he was curled in on himself, not moving. There was blood all over him, and the skin that Steve could see was covered in bruises. Loathe to move him but knowing there was no other choice, Steve snapped the chain and then carefully pulled apart the cuff around Tony's wrist before he lifted the injured man carefully into his hands, bracing him against his chest.

"Anyone close by me?" he asked into the comms. "I have Tony, he's alive but in bad shape. Could use some cover to get him out."

Within seconds, Bucky appeared at the door.

"Jesus fuck," he whispered, taking in the sight of Tony. "Let's get him out of here."

Steve nodded, following Bucky from the cell. He could still here the others, but they were quieter now.

"Extraction," Steve ordered. "We need to get Tony to the hospital."

…

 _Floating. That was what Tony felt. He was surrounded by white, and he wondered if this was death. He'd expected more fire and horns if he were honest with himself. He'd never expected white._

 _Not him, with the amount of red he'd amassed in his ledger over the years._

 _A bleeping was coming from somewhere, and he wished it would stop because it was irritating, so maybe this really was hell and they planned to irritate him into insanity with small annoyances for the rest of his eternity._

 _Bleep. Bleep. Bleep. Bleep._

 _Tony closed his eyes, trying to ignore the noise because it was making his head hurt and what the hell, why was pain still a thing? Dead people shouldn't feel pain, they're_ dead.

 _The pain grew steadily, and-_

…

Tony groaned, shifting in the bed. Rhodey sat forward as his best friend opened his eyes for the first time. Tony blinked up at him, his eyes pained, clearly struggling with the light.

"Hey you," Rhodey greeted, resting his hand gently on Tony's. "You're safe, Tones, we got you out."

Tony blinked at him again. "Turn… turn the fucking… bleeping _off."_

Rhodey snorted, but did as he asked, silencing the machine. "I'm just going to call for the nurse to come check on you, okay?"

Tony nodded and then winced at the movement, still blinking overmuch to try and clear his foggy head.

Within minutes, Rhodey returned, only to find Tony struggling to sit up. Rolling his eyes, Rhodey helped him, raising the bed.

Tony's eyes widened. "What the bloody hell is he doing here?" he hissed, nodding his head to the sleeping super soldier on the armchair in the corner.

"He's refused to leave since we got here," Rhodey replied, moving when the nurse huffed at him. "And since it was him that carried you out, I didn't have the heart to have him removed."

Tony shook his head in disbelief. "This is ridiculous. Can I leave now?"

The nurse sighed. "No, Mr Stark. The doctor will be along shortly to speak with you about how long you'll be here, and your treatment plan."

Tony scoffed. Turning back to Rhodey, he asked, "Where's my phone?"

Rhodey handed the device over. He didn't take offense to Tony's abrupt words, he knew what his friend was like about hospitals.

The nurse left and after five minutes of petulant silence to his questions, Rhodey decided to go and get a drink.

When he returned to the room, it was to find the bed empty.

" _Dammit, Tony."_

…

Three weeks into Tony's self imposed solitude in his rebuilt Malibu home and FRIDAY wasn't even alerting him to Steve's calls any longer. Tony had made it very clear that he didn't want to speak with the Captain, or any of the Avengers for that matter, and it only put him into a worse mood when she informed him of another call.

He'd accepted all the calls from Rhodey and Pepper, including the ones the moment he reached Malibu, where they both reprimanded him for leaving before they begged him to seek medical treatment.

He didn't want medical treatment. He was _fine,_ dammit.

Okay, so maybe 'fine' was a stretch. He was… alive, which is more than he'd been expecting in all honesty, so, at least there was that.

"Master Rhodes has arrived, Sir," FRIDAY announced, making Tony jump.

Okay, so he was a little jumpy as well. Sue him.

"Let him in, Fri," he muttered, tossing his spanner down on the workbench and turning his chair around to wait for his oldest friend.

Rhodey appeared, immediately giving him a _look_ , before he bent down to hug him gently.

"You're a pain in the ass," he muttered against Tony's hair. "You're going to turn me grey. And give me wrinkles. _More_ wrinkles."

Tony snorted. "I'm fine, Honeybear, I promise."

"Uh, huh. But we have very different meanings for the word fine, so how about you let me decide for myself?"

Shrugging, Tony struggled to stand and led the way out of the lab into the lounge. "You want a drink?"

"Tony-"

"I meant coffee or a soft drink," Tony muttered, rolling his eyes. "I don't even have alcohol on the premises."

Eyes widening, Rhodey stared for a moment. "Really?"

"Really, really. I… I've been sober for a couple of years, Platypus. I wasn't going to let some half cocked kidnappers ruin that."

"I… I'm proud of you, Tones. Really proud."

"Uh huh. Tell me what you've been doing," Tony requested as the two of them sat on the couch.

Rhodey did as he was requested, smiling softly when Tony curled up with his head on Rhodey's lap. The genius was asleep in minutes.

"How's he been, FRI?" he asked quietly.

"Sir has been… managing," FRIDAY whispered. "But I believe he is lonely."

Rhodey nodded, running his fingers through soft hair. If only Tony would allow himself to be happy. If only he'd believe that he _deserved_ to be happy.

Though Rhodey had reservations about Steve, in that he'd already hurt Tony more than anyone should ever be allowed to hurt anybody, he thought that the super soldier could be the key to Tony's happiness.

Or… he could at least help it along.

Rhodey had never seen Tony happier than those first few months with the Avengers all living together, before it all went tits up. It had shown Tony what a family, a large family because Tony had already had him and Pepper, could be like, and Tony had revelled in the freely given affection and camaraderie.

He'd never really had that before the Avengers.

Resting his head back against the sofa, Rhodes closed his eyes. He'd find a way to breach the subject with Tony later, after he'd had some real rest.

…

"Have you spoken to Steve or any of the others?"

Tony almost dropped his coffee cup and he glared at Rhodey. "No."

"What, not a single one of them have tried to call?"

"I didn't say that. I said I hadn't _spoken_ to any of them."

"So Steve's been calling?"

Tony shrugged. "A few times. Probably calling to talk about funding or equipment or something wrong at the Tower."

Raising his eyebrow, Rhodey said, "FRIDAY?"

"Captain Rogers has tried to call Sir two hundred and twenty three times since Sir left the hospital."

Even Tony looked shocked at that number, and Rhodey felt a little bit smug at the lost look on his friend's face.

"Seems like it might be something more important than funding or equipment, Tones."

"Like… what? He'd have nothing else to contact me about."

Rhodey sighed. "You know, we were all really worried about you while you were kidnapped. That's a given, Pepper and I will always worry about you, kidnapped or not. But Steve… Steve was ready to burn the world down to find you, and I have no doubts that he would have done it if we hadn't reigned him in. Tones… Steve cares about you. A lot."

"No. Nope. We're not… I can't do this, Honeybear, I _can't_. Steve doesn't…"

"Hey, hey, calm down. We don't have to talk about it. Just… think about it, okay? And… maybe answer his next call."

…

Steve didn't call again. Tony even instructed FRIDAY to alert him to the next one, but nothing came.

Tony wasn't disappointed. He _wasn't_.

Except, two days later, Steve turned up at the house, and what the hell was Tony supposed to do with _that_?

"Sir, Captain Rogers is at the door. He's refusing to leave until he sees you."

Which. Huh.

"Let him in, FRI, point him in my direction."

Tony was laying on the couch, a heap of blankets around him. He'd been watching movies, after making a promise to Rhodey that he'd take a few days off. He wasn't really sure what to make of Steve just turning up, but he was too tired to argue, so he really hoped that wasn't why the soldier had come.

Steve came into the room a few minutes later, guided by FRIDAY. He looked… well, he looked shit, if Tony were honest with himself.

"Hi, Tony."

"Steve."

Tony waved a hand at the other end of the couch and then the chairs. "Sit wherever."

Steve chose the couch, perching on the end with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped.

"You look better."

"I look terrible," Tony replied with a wry smile. "But thanks for trying."

"I mean… I'm not lying. The last time I saw you, you were unconscious and beat to within an inch of your life so… the being awake is an improvement."

Tony snorted but sobered quickly. "Thank you. For coming to get me, I mean. You… well. Thanks."

Steve's eyes were pained. "Of course we came to get you, Tony. You're one of us. I know… I know that the last… I know it hasn't been easy. But… we're still a team. All of us. Including you."

"Ah. I. Erm."

Tony cut himself off because he wasn't part of the team anymore. He hadn't been since the media dubbed 'Civil-War' and that was two years ago now.

"I owe you so many apologies," Steve muttered, blowing out a long breath. "And I'll be honest, I don't even know where to start."

"You don't owe me anything," Tony murmured, almost a jerk reaction. It was true though, Tony didn't believe Steve owed him a thing.

"Tony -"

"I… can't. I don't want to go over things that have already… the past is the past, and apologies can't change anything that happened. For _either_ of us. You weren't the only one who fucked up, Steve. I know when to own my mistakes."

"I made a lot more than you did," Steve admitted. "But you're right. The whole… Civil War thing is over. But… Thanos wasn't long ago, and I fucked up big. I thought… I thought you were okay. I didn't realise you were injured, but that doesn't excuse the way I walked away from you because I _should've_ checked and that's on me. I just… Tony you have to know that you're important, okay? To me, to the rest of the team. You _are_ important. I haven't given you many reasons to believe me, but you are."

"Is this… a guilt thing?" Tony asked, bewildered. "Or… I don't know. I don't understand. I don't understand what _this_ is."

"It's a I-realised-how-bad-I-messed-up-thing," Steve replied quietly. "It's me trying to fix one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made."

Tony still didn't understand, but he didn't want to admit that so he stayed silent.

"I love you," Steve blurted then, his clasped hands squeezing together. "I've loved you for so long, but I… I always thought there would be time. And then things happened, and I wondered… I thought maybe I'd missed it, the time to confess, but I can't just keep sitting on it when you deserve to know that somebody loves you with every fiber of their being. Because I do, Tony."

He paused for a breath, chancing a look at Tony who was frozen in his seat.

"I don't expect anything. I don't expect you to return… hell, I don't even expect you to forgive me for all the things I messed up. But you need to know that you deserve to be happy, Tony, and you… you deserve so much love."

Tony's head was hurting, and he didn't know what to say. It was like his brain had simultaneously gone into meltdown and overdrive.

"I… you… I can't," Tony gasped, shaking his head and squeezing his eyes shut. "Please… leave, please, just go."

"Tony -"

"Please."

Tony felt the couch shift when Steve stood, but he couldn't look, he couldn't watch the man walk away.

"You…" Steve paused, and Tony could tell that the man was by the door. "I understand that you don't want to talk now, and that you might not ever… but I'm not going to…. I'll wait for you, Tony. For as long as it takes. I'll wait for you."

Tony listened to his footsteps in the hallway until he couldn't hear them anymore and then buried himself under his blankets.

He didn't… he couldn't…

He wasn't here for this.

…

It had been a little over three months since Steve saw Tony in Malibu, and he was starting to lose hope of ever seeing the genius again. Pepper and Rhodey were in constant contact with him, and Vision had assured Steve that Tony was getting better with every passing week, but Steve needed to see that for himself.

Every time he picked up his phone to ring Tony though, he reminded himself of his last promise. That he would wait for Tony to come to him. As hard and painful as it was, he'd stick to that promise.

Tony deserved that much from him at least.

The Avengers Alert sounded, and Steve suited up on autopilot, listening to the reboot of Jarvis telling them what was happening and what they would be facing.

Apparently, Dr Doom was up to his old tricks, and with the Fantastic Four conveniently in Europe, it was up to them to cull the threat.

Within minutes, the team were disembarking the Quinjet in Manhattan, and Steve was shouting out orders.

It was a grueling battle, and the doom-bots just kept coming and coming in waves. Even Steve was tiring.

"Hope I'm not too late to the party," came a voice over the coms, and a repulsor blast hit three bots that were sneaking up on Steve.

"Tony," Steve breathed out, looking up to see the wonderfully familiar red and gold suit flying above him, expertly weaving as he shot bot after bot.

"Cap," Tony greeted, and his tone was warm.

The others called out greetings, and with a fresh determination to end this battle quickly, Steve threw himself back into the fight.

He listened to the comms, smiling to himself when he heard Clint, Natasha and Sam all calling out their thanks when Tony saved them one after the other. It was so good to hear the man's name being mentioned again, and even better to hear the cheerful, cheeky replies.

"Man of Iron!" Thor shouted gleefully. "It is good to see you back in fighting form!"

"Good to see you too, Point Break," Tony replied, before he added, "Barnes, duck!"

Steve waited for a few seconds, before he heard the chuckle of his best friend.

"Battle's over at this end, Stevie. Stark just took out the last wave with a… whatever the hell that was."

Steve was about to reply when Tony appeared above him before he landed a little way away.

"Fancy giving me a hand?"

Steve nodded. "Of course."

The Iron Man helmet nodded, and Steve saw the chest piece brighten. "Shield up," Tony ordered.

Steve held it up, and Tony bounced the blast off it.

"Spin it," Tony urged.

The blast, aided by the shield, took out the last of the bots.

Steve let out a sigh of relief and let his shield fall to rest by his feet.

"Thanks for the save," Steve said after a moment.

Tony's faceplate retracted, and the familiar face was suddenly there, and Steve felt faint. Gone were the cuts and bruises from the kidnapping, and gone was the pained look in Tony's eyes that had been there for far too long.

"Isn't that what teams do?" Tony asked, his lips tilting up slightly as his eyes twinkled.

"Yeah," Steve agreed breathlessly. "Yeah, Tony. That's what teams do."

Tony winked, and Steve noticed the others gathering around them. "Anyone for shawarma?"

…

Tony was standing on the balcony, a glass in his hand as he looked up at the sky. Steve watched him from the sofa, where all the team were still gathered. They'd had shawarma, the throwback to their first battle to much to resist, and then all convened in the living room of the tower to watch movies and quietly celebrate the return of their missed teammate.

Each of them had taken a moment to welcome Tony home, and to Steve's admitted surprise, Tony had accepted the affection from each of them with genuine smiles and quiet words of thanks.

Only Steve had yet to speak to Tony alone.

Bucky nudged his arm, gaining his attention only to nod towards the balcony. "Go and speak to him," he murmured. "He's waiting for you."

"You think?"

"Uh huh."

Steve nodded, hesitating only slightly before he got up from the couch and slowly walked out onto the balcony, closing the door behind him.

"Hey."

Tony glanced over his shoulder and gave him a small smile. "Hi."

"You're here." Steve could have hit himself for stating the obvious, but Tony chuckled and the sound did a lot to push away Steve's embarrassment.

"I am. It's… I wasn't actually planning to come today."

"Oh."

"Don't do the puppy eyes, Cap, I was getting ready to head back. I just wasn't planning it _today_."

Steve didn't know how Tony knew he was doing 'puppy eyes' since he still wasn't looking at him, but as Steve leant against the balcony beside him, he thought that maybe Tony just knew him that well.

"Are you staying?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah. I. Yeah, I'm staying. It was time to… move on, I guess. Get my life back together."

"And the team?"

"Yeah. That too."

"So… you're staying on the team too?"

Tony turned his head to look at Steve. "If you'll have me?"

"As if that was even in question," Steve replied quietly. "You belong with us, Tony. You always have."

Tony nodded thoughtfully. "And you?"

"And me… what?"

"Do you still want me?"

"I… I'll always want you," Steve whispered, looking down at his hands. "That's never been in question either. Even when… well. It's never been in question."

Tony turned to look at him. "I never… earlier, before…" he was struggling with his words, and Steve nodded to show he understood what Tony meant. Tony smiled gratefully. "I hoped that we could… that we would… I thought we had time too. And then, I… well, I thought it would never happen. And it sucked, you know? And then Thanos happened and I realised that life is really fucking short. And I thought… I thought I could get over you. Move on from you, and from the Avengers and from… I wanted to just not be here. With all the reminders and the… and you."

He took a sip of his drink and it was then that Steve realised Tony was drinking water. He didn't think he'd ever seen Tony drink water in the entire time he'd known him.

"Ah. Yeah," Tony murmured when he saw Steve's expression. "When you were… not here, I threw all the alcohol out and… so I've been sober for a while. Anyway, before I got kidnapped, I'd been planning to move back to Malibu. So, when I woke up in the hospital… I mean, that was probably stupid but the headspace I was in at the time was… maybe a bit not good and I just needed to not be here."

Steve's fingers twitched as he restrained himself for reaching out to grasp Tony's hand. He could see how much the other man was struggling to get these words out, and he just wanted to offer whatever support he could.

"When you came to see me in Malibu… I don't think I was ready for that, but also, I think I needed to hear it, because you gave me… something to get better for? Maybe? Or something along those lines anyway. I mean, I wasn't… I wouldn't… but it helped, anyway. You helped. And… well. I know that you said you'd wait for me, but… I won't hold you to that if-"

Steve cut him off immediately. "I told you that I'd wait as long as I needed to wait, Tony. I wasn't lying about that. And if… if you only want to be friends… then it's more than I deserve, if we're honest."

"I'm spilling my heart out, here, Rogers, pipe down," Tony replied, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

Steve huffed a laugh but gestured for Tony to continue.

"If," Tony continued, reaching out for Steve's hand, which Steve offered immediately, "If that's still something you want, then I would very much like to accept."

"Tony," Steve murmured, tugging gently on his hand to pull him closer.

"I love you too, Steve."

…

Tony was in his lab, tinkering with Clint's arrows when arms wrapped around his waist.

"You know, you're going to do that one day, and I'll be holding something dangerous," Tony murmured, leaning back against a solid chest.

"I'll always risk it to get my arms around you," Steve murmured against Tony's ear, before he pressed a kiss to his cheek. "It's time for dinner."

"You're gonna make me fat, making me eat three times a day."

"I help you work off the extra calories, don't I?"

Tony turned in his arms, grinning with delight as Steve blushed deliciously.

"Did you just…?"

"Apparently," Steve agreed, his blush intensifying.

"Oh my god," Tony laughed. "I've corrupted Captain America."

Steve rolled his eyes and kissed the still grinning Tony. "Come on. Food. And then it's movie night."

"If Barnes thinks he's choosing again, he can think again," Tony said immediately, standing up and following Steve to the elevator. "He has the most obnoxious taste in movies."

"You two are like… best friends. Are you ever going to use his first name?"

Tony stared at Steve in horror. "Absolutely not. _Bucky_. Nope."

"Did I just hear you refer to me by my name, Doll?" Bucky asked as the elevator doors opened. He had a similar look of horror as Tony.

"Nope," Tony replied immediately. "No you did not. And you're not choosing the movie, Snowflake, so you can put those eyes away."

"But Tony -"

"Nope."

Steve watched on as his best friend and the love of his life argued about who was choosing the movie and he smiled.

If he had his way, this would be the way his life would always be.

 _Happy._


End file.
